Home Again
by KatLeePT
Summary: Jubilee's thoughts turn inward on the first Fourth of July celebration after she returns to the X-Men. Spoilers!


They sit in the shadows that have become too familiar and comforting. Her arms are wrapped around him, and their heads tilt up as they watch the fireworks display. She looks down as he gurgles and coos, and then when he claps his hands together in glee at the pretty, bright colors, she can't help but to recall that she used to be able to make kids react in awe as he is now doing for some one else. She used to be the one to do the fireworks at every X-Men party, and sometimes, during her days with Generation X, she'd throw some sparkles out just to entertain Artie and Leech.

She wonders where those little boys are now. They were so innocent, despite everything that had happened to them, too young and fragile by far to know just how ugly the world really was. She looks down at Shogo and realizes that he is the same. He has no idea of the bad things that happened to bring him into her life, or all that has changed for her because of bad things and bad people. "I used to be able to do that, ya know that, kid?"

But she can't do it any more. Sure, she has cool fangs and a neat snarl to scare the bad guys. She's got moves now that can rival Logan's, and she's going to live forever rather she wants to or not. She really will be the last X-Man, just as Bishop told them what seems like both yesterday and forever ago. She's no longer a mutant. She's only a Vampire.

Her eyes go back to the sky, but she's no longer really watching the fireworks. She's looking at the darkness instead, the darkness that has become a nightly part of her life. She used to love the sun so much, but now she can't even feel its direct heat. She can still go out in the daylight, but only if every part of her exposed skin is covered. It's not the same.

It's never going to be the same. She's never going to be the same chili-cheese-fries-eating mall rat. She's never going to be the same kid tagging along with the X-Man, or even the same as she was the night she saved Wolverine. Some say she doesn't even belong with the team now. She's heard the whispers, heard the younger ones talking about how she's brought danger with her to the school._Younger ones._ Even that phrase alone is so different. She used to be the youngest wherever she went - well, except for Artie and Leech, of course.

She sighs; her head drops so that her chin now rests on top of Shogo's little head. "It's never gonna be the same," she murmurs. She's an outcast now even among outcasts. She's an outcast amongst her own family. She's never really going to be a part of the X-Men again. She'll always be just off to the edge, not really belonging because she isn't mutant but still tagging along, always skirting on the shadows.

She sighs again. "I could go for a pizza right now. Or chili cheese fries." Most people think of foods their mother made as their comfort food, but she never really had a mother to cook for her. The foods she's always craved, instead, are those that she used to steal back when she was living in the mall, but even that's not the same. She can still eat food, but she doesn't enjoy it like she did before. Hank says it's because she no longer derives sustenance from it, but Jubilee knows it goes further than that.

"Maybe we get some after de show, cherie." She looks up; red eyes look back at her own from the shadows.

"Remy." She almost admits she didn't hear his approach, but that would give her mood away. She doesn't want to worry her friends, her family. They have enough of their own problems without worrying about hers, too.

"Didn't hear me, eh, petite?" He smiles around his lit cigarette.

"You should put that out."

"Ya never cared before, darlin'."

She has to smile at that sound, even despite her foul mood. "Never had a baby to watch out for before." But Shogo is hers. She's going to watch out for him for the rest of her life, or, at least, for the rest of his.

"We used to worry about watching out for you, Jubilation."

"But y'all've come a long way, Jubie."

"Jubie." She grins, her red eyes darting back and forth between these familiar faces, each wearing various masks meant to hide their concern for her. "Ain't heard that one in a while."

"Ya ain't been home in too long, kid."

"Ya really miss me?"

"Of course!"

"Dang straight!"

"Oui, petite."

"It ain't been the same wit'out ya, honey. 'Course a lot o' things ain't been th' same."

"But I do like to think we are still a family."

"We all do."

"Furthermore, it would not be an X-Men family Fourth of July celebration without our very own Firecracker creating one of her special performances."

She stares at him so long that she almost starts to gawk. "Ya know I can't do that any more, Blue."

"Affirmative. I may be beginning to have to pull out some gray hairs in the morning, Jubilation, but I've not grown so old as to have forgotten your transformation. However, with this little device, I believe you can still share your talent with us all." He steps forward out of the shadows, and she notices, for the first time, that he's carrying a new device. It looks similar to a joystick controller, but she knows her genius friend is not offering her a mere video game.

He kneels beside her and her baby and shows her his latest creation. There's a stick-like thing coming out of each end of the device, but in the middle is a small screen and several buttons. With his instruction, Jubilee learns how to select her colors, her design, and even her level of power. She hits the final button, and the sticks come together. Plasma shoots out of their ends, aiming straight up into the sky and coming down in a vast array of sparks.

"It works," Hank comments with a smile.

"Duh! You made it!" she exclaims over Shogo's squeals of delight. She leans sideways and throws an arm around his furry side while keeping the arm whose hand holds the controller balancing Shogo in her lap. She grins up at him. "Thank you, Fuzzy!"

He beams; then her eyes go to the rest of their friends, their _family_, each of whom has also exclaimed in delight and pride over both Hank's creation and her use of it. "Thank you, all guys!"

"Good ta see ya doin' it again, darlin'!"

"Told ya it would work, Hank!"

"Well done, my friends."

"'Bout time, petite, an' welcome home again. Ya don' go leavin' us again, ya hear?"

It's her turn to beam now. "I won't," she promises both them and herself. Nothing will ever be the same again, but she is home, home to stay, and her family's still here, still glad to have her, and still loving her.

Ororo gazes into her face, reading her eyes. "If Charles was here to read your thoughts, Jubilation, he would tell you we never stopped."

"I know," she says, grinning, then passes Shogo to Hank, leaps up, and grabs the rest of their friends in a group bear hug.

The End


End file.
